As the death of comedian Robin Williams has brought depression to the forefront of national
discourse, faith leaders say that such tragedies often prompt questions and an opportunity to
educate about the way religious communities approach the issue of suicide.

Some religions once taught that suicide was a moral failing, but many have softened their
stances during the past decades as science has revealed the nature of mental disease.

“Depression is a serious medical and psychological illness, and healthy people don’t take their
lives,” said the Rev. Phil Paulucci, a deacon at St. Peter Catholic Church on the Northwest Side
and a founding partner at Central Ohio Behavioral Medicine in Upper Arlington.

“These are people suffering from a terrible disease, a terrible, terrible disease, a
life-threatening condition.”

The Rev. James Black, pastor of St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Powell, said that congregants
may not have a good grasp of the church’s stance on suicide because it’s not something that comes
up during weekend Masses. He said more people ask questions when suicide gains a national
spotlight, and so he uses that as an opportunity for one-on-one education.

When a person takes his or her life, there’s an understanding that “perhaps the moral
culpability of the person has been compromised by illness,” he said. The mercy of God is considered
when it comes to all sin but especially with suicide, as is how aware a person was given his or her
mental state.

Catholics who commit suicide are given full Christian burials, he said.

Suicide is “very difficult, it’s very painful. We just cannot comprehend the pain the person
must have been in, and we (Jews) treat it as a tragic loss of life,” said Esther Kaltmann,
co-director of the Lori Schottenstein Chabad Center in New Albany. “We just have utter compassion
for the soul of that person.”

The Talmud Jewish text, she said, says that anyone who brings joy to another merits life in the
world to come. Judaism emphasizes the celebration of the life and contributions of the person who
has died.

“We also focus on good deeds we can do now to keep their spirit alive and to strengthen
ourselves to keep going despite the difficult loss and pain we are experiencing,” Kaltmann
said.

In the Muslim faith, many deterrents to suicide are found in the Quran, the words of the Prophet
Mohammed and other teachings, said Imam Hossam Musa of the Noor Islamic Cultural Center in
Hilliard.

“Suicide is forbidden in all of its forms, and as Muslims we believe that the body is a trust
from God to us. ... It belongs to God, and he entrusts us over it to give it care,” Musa said.

Mohammed instructed Muslims to never harm themselves or inflict harm on others, Musa said, and
the Quran specifically forbids killing oneself. Suicide is seen as a selfish act because family
members are left with heartache and perhaps financial instability, and because it “deprives
humanity of their productivity.”

Still, he said, in the past six months, he has performed services for two Muslims who killed
themselves.

“We bury them just like anyone else and try to give support and comfort to the family,” he said.
“It’s an extremely tragic event and mostly unforeseeable. As clergy, we try to educate our
community, specifically our faith-based community.”

Yvette Jackson, an affiliate faculty member at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Bexley, said suicide
is largely becoming destigmatized among religious leaders, with many now seeing it as a health
issue as opposed to a moral issue.

More faith leaders are learning to listen nonjudgmentally to people exhibiting signs and
symptoms of mental illness and to the family members of people who take their own lives.

“We’re really empowering faith communities to learn the signs and symptoms of suicide and to
approach it from a health perspective rather than a moral perspective,” she said.

“Faith communities are starting to be more open in dialogue with organizations like the National
Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Ohio Suicide Prevention Network, and I think that makes a
difference by increasing the education and demystifying it.”

Religious leaders largely see themselves as part of a network that can help prevent such
tragedies.

In an effort to help young people, Kaltmann teaches a Jewish Learning Institute “Teens Discovery
Program,” held at the Chabad Center on most Sundays from Sept. 14 to March 8. (Visit
www.chabadcolumbus.com for more information.)

Black said priests have a better understanding of how to approach such situations pastorally —
and in the best circumstances, before tragedy happens.

Paulucci, who has taught pastoral counseling at the Pontifical College Josephinum on the
Northwest Side for about 10 years, tells students that they can offer support to people
contemplating suicide but must also refer them to a mental-health professional.

Musa said Muslim leaders work to encourage people to be patient through the ups and downs of
life and to trust that God can intervene and change situations in which humans see no way out. He
also encourages the community to be proactive, to share meals and check on one another, to pray for
each other and to focus on each person’s good qualities.

When tragedy hits, he said, he reminds people to prepare for their own afterlife by performing
good deeds. And he tells them to go home and hug their loved ones.

“Don’t take it for granted, because you don’t know when it might be the last time you’re going
to be able to do that,” he said.

If you or someone you know needs emotional help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the Franklin County Suicide Prevention Hotline at 614-221-5445.